#46 - IELTS Speaking test in the Philippines – June 2016 (General Training)

Test # 46

Personal Questions

- What do you do?

I’m a chartered accountant, working at a local accounting firm in my city.

- Why did you choose this profession?

CA, or the profession of chartered accountancy, is a very reputed and high-paying profession in my country. The exams to become a CA are also very difficult to pass, so the importance of this career choice is more. After a few initial months of hard work, life is easy for a CA in terms of earning money.

- Do you like to sing? Why?

Yes I like to sing. I’m a fairly good singer; I’ve been told this by many people who have heard me sing at parties or in group singing games like Antakshari. The reason I like to sing is it makes me feel happy, and if you work while singing your time passes on very smoothly.

- How often do you sing?

I sing everyday actually, but it cannot be called singing exactly, it is more like humming. I sing properly for very small children sometimes, and at parties or family weddings.

- Do you like flowers?

Yes I like flowers. I like roses to be specific…all roses except for pink. I feel the pink roses in market nowadays are very pale shades of pink that make the flower seem dirty.

- When was the last time you gave flowers to someone?

Just a month back I gifted a bouquet at a friend’s sister’s wedding. Not knowing the couple personally, I felt the best gift would be flowers only.

Cue Card

Describe an occasion when you had to eat a certain food for the first time. Please say

- What was the occasion?

- When and where did it take place?

- Why did you eat that food?

I went to a very authentic Italian restaurant in my city a few weeks back; the place had newly opened. I had heard the kind of Italian food served there was a bit different from the Indian fusion versions that we have at other restaurants and I was curious to know how proper authentic Italian dishes tasted like. The owner of that restaurant was Italian herself so I was more interested in going there. I and another cousin of mine who is equally interested in trying new food items decided to go there for dinner. We asked the steward about the specials and he advised us to go for ‘Gnocchi’ which is a traditional Italian dish with potato dumplings in sauce. The name also intrigues us very much. However, the taste of the dish was not exactly like the Italian food we had been having till now. It was very different and I personally did not like it a lot, but my cousin enjoyed it. Upon conversing with the Italian owner, she said that with the people outside of Italy, this dish needs some getting used to, because it is a traditional household dish in Italy. Over all, the experience in that restaurant was a pleasant and enriching one.

Discussion

- Who is more open to new ways of cooking, young people or adults? Why?

I think young people are more open to new ways of cooking because many youngsters nowadays live alone or away from their parents due to their studies or work and have to often cook for themselves. Also, the cooking shows on TV have changed a lot since the past which showed the same kind of dishes with minor variations; nowadays international food shows are also telecast all over and young people try to learn various cuisines by watching these shows. Masterchef Australia is a prominent example here as the show has a huge fan following not only from Australia but from all over the worlds.

- How can spices of your country be compared to those of other countries?

In terms of using spices in food, Indians are more liberal with that. I mean Indians use a lot of spices in food, and some of the essential ones that go in every dish are turmeric, red chillies, cumin seeds and mustard seeds. The spices used in my country’s food are more pungent as compared to Italian or Mediterranean food.